Reportedly, the Cavs would also be “leading contenders” for Carmelo Anthony‘s services should he extricate himself from New York.

Per ESPN:

The Nuggets were recruited into the talks to furnish the Pacers with the combination of promising young players and draft picks that they are seeking before consenting to surrender George, whose agent, Aaron Mintz, informed Indiana management just over a week ago that George has no intention of staying with the club beyond the expiration of his current contract in June 2018.

The three teams could not agree to a final trade construction in time to complete a deal on draft night Thursday, but sources say the Cavaliers won’t abandon their trade pursuit of George, believing that acquiring the 27-year-old and George’s potentially winning a championship next season alongside LeBron James is the one scenario that could convince the two-way menace to abandon his well-chronicled desire to join the Los Angeles Lakers as soon as possible.

The Lakers, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs are among the teams, sources say, that also pursued George trades aggressively ‎in conjunction with the draft.